Flying-machine.



J. G. SGHL'EIGHER.

FLYING 111101111111.

APPLICATION FILED FBBHJB, 1911).

. :49 J6 I 1 49 I 5 1 ZZCH] as/m W Patented July 18,1911.

attomuo J. G. SGHLEICHER.

FLYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED Emma. 1910.

Patented July-18; 1911.

J. C. SGHLEIGHER. FLYING MAGHINE. APPLIUA'110N FILED FEB.2B, 1910. I 998,553. Patented July 18,1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

JOIN c. soirmronnn, or MOUNT VERNON, 1\TEW YORK.

FLYING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J l 18 1911 Application filed February 28, 1910. Serial No. 546,481.

To all whom it m y, concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN C. SoHLEIoHnR, a citizen of the United'State's, residing at Mount Vernon, in the county of VVestchester and State of New York, have invented cer: tain new and useful Improvements in Flying-Machines; and I,do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in flying machines.

One object of the invention is to provide a fiying machine having an improved construction and arrangement of propellers and an improved arrangement of aeroplane which is adapted to serve as a parachute when the machine descends.

Another object is to provide amachine having a balloon and means whereby the balloon, the propellers and aeroplane may be tilted up or down longitudinally to facilitate the raising and lowering of the machine, and having means to retard the backward movement of the machine when descending with the parts in an upwardly tilted or inclined position.

it further object is to provide an improved construction of car mounted on supporting whe'els and having means forsafely floating the same should the machine scend onto a body of water.

Still another object is to provide means whereby the machine may be turned to the right or left to avoid obstruct-ions when making a landing.

\Vith the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out inthe appended claims. f

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l. is a side view of the machine showing the slip porting and propelling mechanism arranged at an angle for makingan ascent; Fig/2 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal sectional View of the machine; Fig. 3 is a v ertical cross sectional view of the same 1g. 4 is a horizontal sectional View thro i the lower portion of the machine shoy/ing more particularly the means for floating the same; Fig. 5 is a plan-view of the propellers and their operating mechanism for turning the machine to the right or left to avoid obstructions when making a landing; Fig. 6 is a side view of the gearing shown in Fig. 5" illustrating the manner in which' the latter is controlled tq operate'the propellers on either side of the machine; Fig. plan view of the gears for operating the main propellers; Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view through the propeller tube showing the manner in which the tilting cable is. connected thereto; Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view through the propeller tube showing the arrangement of the blade or pocket by means of which the backward mo 'ement of the machine is retarded.

In the .illustrated embodiment of theinvention, I provide a car 1, the lower portion of which is of water tight construction,

while the upper portion is in the form of an open frame, The car i is mounted on'supporting wheels 2 and has attached to its front and rear ends'frames 3 to the outer sides of which are connected front and rear pairs of pontoons at, which are here shown and are preferably of triangular shape in cross section and are divided intermediate their ends by a transverse partition 5, which forms in the forward end of the pontoons f air chambers (3 and in the rear ends yvater chambers 7 WlllCllare provlded wit "water inlet and discharge passages 8 -whereby,

when the machine descends on 'a body of water, said water cha'mbersxivill fill and form a ballast and, when the machine ascends, said water will run out of the openings 8 in the rear ends pf the pontoons. The car 1 is preferably of "substantially elliptical shape andis pointed at its forward end, as shown, to oiferthe least resistance to the air pressure wheif'the machine is moving in a forward direction.

To the-"ripper portion of the car frame are securedthe lo ver ends of centrally disposed upwardly prl jecting inclined connecting bars 2), which are secured together near their l'ipper ends by a horizontal cross brace 10.

with which adjacent the upper ends of the bars 9 are pivotally connected upwardly and inwardly projecting supporting bars 12 to the upper ends of which is secured a longitudinally disposed propeller tube 13. To the opposite sides of thetube 13 are connected the inner edges 'of laterally projecting downwardly curved aeroplanes 14, the lower edges of which. are reinforced 01' strengthened b being bent or doubled upwardly upon t em'selves, as shown at 15, said upwardly bent edges being curved outwardly to'a slight extent to form air-resisting blades 16, which aid in keeping the machine in a the operation of the machine, but is provided as a means for sustaining the weight of the car and propelling mechanism whereby the latter may be employedv entirely for the propulsion of the machine and need not be used for raising the same. By pivotally connecting the supporting bars 12 withthe ends of the shaft 11, the propeller tube 13, aeroplanes 14 and the balloon 17 may be tilted up or down longitudinally to any desired angle. In order to tilt these parts, when desired, I provide tilting cables 19, the outer ends of which are connected by yokes 20 to the opposite sidesof the prooperator and provided with a suitable hanmounted on the shaft 11.

peller tube .13 ad acent its opposite ends. The cables 19 pass around suitable guide pulleys and are connected at their inner ends to and adapted to be wound in opposite directions upon a winding drum 21 arranged in the car within convenient reach of the dle 22 and a pawl and ratchet locking mechanism 23, whereby the drum is held against retrograde movement, thus holding the propeller tube and the parts connected there with at the desired angle of inclination.

In theca-r 1 is arranged a suitable motor 24 on the drive shaft of which is arranged a beveled gear 25, which is operatively engagedwitha similar gear 26 mounted on the lower end of a vertically disposed drive shaft 27, suitably mounted in the top of the car and in the cross brace 10 and having on its upper end a beveled gear 28,,which is engaged with a similar gear 29 loosely On the shaft 11 arranged a bearing block 30 in the opposite ends of which are journaled the inner ends of longitudinally disposed propeller shafts 31 and 32, which are revolubly mounted in suitable hangers 33, secured to the lower side of the propellprtube 13. On the inner ends of the'shafts 31 and 82 are fixedly mounted beveled gears 34 which are operatively engaged with and driven by the beveled gear 29 onthe shaft 11. On the outer ends of the shafts 31 and 32 are fixedly mounted main propellers 35 and 36, the

blades of which are properly arranged for driving the machine in a forward direction.

Revolubly mounted in suitable hearings in the propeller tube 18 is an auxiliary propeller shaft 37 on the outer ends of which are mounted auxiliary propellers 38. The shaft 37 has also fixedly mounted thereon a sprocket gear 39 which is connected by a sprocket chain 40 with a sprocket gear 41 on the main propeller shaft 32. The chain 40 passes through a suitable opening in the 7 on the outer ends of driving shafts 43 mounted in suitable bearings on the to of the car. The shafts 43 for each pair 0 the propellers are connected by a sprocket chain gearing-44 to independent drive shafts 45 and 46 which are also revolubly mounted in suitable bearings on the top of the car. On the inner ends of the shafts 45 and 46 are slidably keyed beveled gears 47 and 48.

,On the shaft 27 is fixedly mounted a beveled gear 49 with which the gears 47 and 48 are engaged to drive the propellers 42 on one side or the ot-her of the machine whereby the latter is turned in the desired direction. The gears 47 and 48 are shifted into and-out of engagement with the gear 49 by means of an arrangement of shifting levers 50 or any other suitable form of shifting mechanism.

In addition tothe propellers arranged at the upper portion of the machine and in the tube 13, for propelling the machine, I also provide additional auxiliary propellers 51, which are suitably mounted in supporting frames or brackets 52 secured to the opposite sides of the lower portion of the car near the center of the same; On the shafts 'of the propellers 51 are mounted beveled gears 53, which are engaged by similar gears 54 on the outer ends of an operating shaft 55, which extends through and is mounted in suitable bearings in the sides of the car. On the shaft 55 in' the car is fixedly mounted a beveled gear 56 which is operatively engaged with the drive gear 25 on the drive shaft of the motor. The propeller's 51 while serving as additionalauxiliary propellers for driving the machine through the air may also be employed to pocket which will catch the air currents and thus assist in retarding the'backward movement of the machine when the latter is descendingwith the propelling mechanism and balloon in an upwardly inclined position- When the'machine is descending with the propelling mechanism and balloon in a horizontal -posi tion, the use of the retarding blade is not required and'in: this case, the blade is drawn upwardly to an inoperative position beneath the tube 13. The blade is raised and lowered by suitable operating cables 59,which pass over suitable guide pulleys 60 and extend downwardly into the car with-in convenient reach of the operator. Any suitable steering mechanism or rudder 61 may be arranged on the rear end of the'machine for steeringthe same, saidrudder. being con-v trolled by shown).

s From the foregoing description taken in connection wit-h the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation ofthe invention will be readily understood with out requiring a more extended explanation. Various changes in the form, proportion and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of-the advanta es of this invention as defined i'ntheappen ed claims.

any suitable mechanism (not Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 2-.-

1. In a flying machine, the combination of a car, supporting bars rising from the sides of the car, a transverse shaft in the up per ends of said bars, a propeller tube piv otally connected with said shaft and supported by and above the same, aeroplanes secured to said tube and' extending outwardly and downwardly therefrom and fitting on the ends of the transverse shaft, propellers carried by said' tube, and means for tilting the the transverse shaft.

2. In a flying machine, the combination of a car, supporting bars rising from the sides of the car, a transverseshaft in the upper ends of said bars, inwardly and uppropeller tube endwise about wardly converging bars pivoted onsaid Shaft, a propeller tube secured to the'upper, ends of said converging bars, propellers carried by said tube, aeroplanes secured to the sides of the tube and extending downwardly and outwardly therefrom and fitted on the ends ofthe transverse shaft, means for op-- erating the propellers and means for tilting the propeller tube.

3. In a flying machine, the combination of a car, supporting bars rising from the sides of the car, a transverse shaft in' the upperends of said bars, a propeller tube ,pivotally connected with, said shaft and supported by and above the same, aeroplanes secured' to said tube and extending outwardly and downwardly therefrom and doubled .on themselves, the free edges of the aeroplanes being curved outwardly and upwardly and the doubled portions thereof betop thereof and projecting beyond the sides of the same, steering blades on the endsof said shafts, gearing between said shafts and the drivingshaft, propellers mounted on the sides of the car near the bottom-thereof, a trans verse shaft in the car, gearing between said shaft and the motor, and gearing between said shaft and the last mentionedpropellers.

Intestimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN (1- SCHLEICHER. Witnesses:

. E. EnMoNs'roN, Jr.,

S. M. MOCOLL.

driving shaft rising from the car, a motor 

